if the president and speaker boehner can't reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff, taxes for all americans will go up, and across the board spending cuts will kick in on january 1st. economists say that combination would plunge the country back into a recession. >> reporter: there are signs some republicans will willing to compromise on taxes if they can secure cut to social security, medicare and medicaid. >> give the president the 2% increase that he is talking about, the rate increase on the top 2%, and all of a sudden the shift goes back to entitlement. >> reporter: one proposal under discussion, raising the eligibility age for medicare is not going over well with democrats and advocates for senior citizens. >> the option, for example, to raise the medicare age actually is bad policy and will increase costs, because people who are 65 and 66 still need health insurance. >> reporter: the aarp says the real solution to cutting the deficit is lowers skyrocketing health care costs. in washington, danielle nottingham, cbs 5. >>> a hopeful sign for the economy, today is expected to